Are you breathing properly? Simple ways to boost your wellbeing

As a chartered psychologist and yoga teacher, much of my work involves offering therapeutic support to people during stress, loss and change. One of the most potent practices in my toolkit is breathwork – my mantra is ‘when you breathe better, you feel better’. Learning to work with the breath can help you feel relaxed and more present, and it can also help you move through your feelings. In addition to managing stress, anxiety and our emotions, how we breathe can also have an impact on our capacity to focus and support us through physical pain and exertion.

How to help yourself breathe better

You might think of breathing as an inhalation and an exhalation. But what helps us breathe better is approaching the breath as if it has four parts – the breath in, a moment after you breathe in, the breath out, and a moment after you breathe out. Notice now how it feels to take a breath like this.

If it feels difficult to sit in stillness and work with the breath, try moving with it instead. Rest your hands with the palms facing up in your lap. As you breathe in open your palms fully, notice a little pause, and then breathe out while slowly making a fist, noticing how this helps you more fully empty the lungs by igniting the diaphragm. Allow another pause and then let it turn the corner and become the next inbreath, opening your hands again. Repeat for 10 breaths, letting the movement of your hands assist you in breathing more expansively. This is something you can come back to whenever you need to reboot and refresh yourself.

While it would be natural to assume that all the movement of the breath might be contained in the lungs, 70-80% of the work is actually done by the diaphragm. Feel how the whole torso expands in all directions as you breathe in and then how it gently and effortlessly retracts back to your centre with each exhalation. You could take a few breaths now, while placing your hands on your stomach, or your sides and even reaching around to your back and just notice what movement you can detect. This is what it means to breathe well – allowing the breath to be spacious and relaxed, using the diaphragm, without any force or effort.

Nose not mouth

Where possible we want to avoid mouth breathing, unless of course you are congested, in which case you breathe however you can. Chronic mouth breathing is a cue to the nervous system that it needs to be on high alert and it has its own health consequences, such as exacerbating stress and reducing cognitive performance. When we breathe through the nose nitric oxide is released, which dilates blood vessels and allows greater oxygenation of the tissues of the body.

Not only do we miss out on these benefits when we breathe through the mouth, it can cause your airways to become dry and irritated, leading to hypersensitive airways, a dry mouth, sore throat and irritating cough and can lead to higher incidences of gum disease and cavities.

Breathing for stress relief

There are plenty more useful ways of getting a wellbeing boost by breathing in a specific way. Let’s look first at the most common motivation for working with the breath – stress and anxiety relief. One of the simplest ways to dial down stress and anxiety is to swap mouth breathing for nostril breathing.

The aperture of the nostrils themselves are smaller than the mouth so we have to engage the diaphragm to pull air down into the lungs, helping us breathe deeper and more fully. The stress-busting, mental-health-boosting properties of diaphragmatic breathing are well documented. Nasal breathing also filters and humidifies air as it enters your body and it engages the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting a feeling of relaxation.

My go-to breathing practice in times of high stress, in addition to nasal breathing, is the ‘chicken wing shoulder roll’ – silly name but it feels good and you’re unlikely to forget it. Pop your fingers on your shoulders to form your chicken wing. As you breathe in, raise your elbows forwards and upwards, as you breathe out, lower them back and down. Take 10 of these, feeling it release tension in your chest and shoulders, encouraging you to breathe more fully. It’s my daily prescription, the perfect alternative to just trying to deepen your breath in stillness. If you need something a little less conspicuous, go back to just the movement of your hands.

Breathing for sleep

We can turn to breathing to support us through emotional and physical pain, too. The ‘candle breath’ involves breathing in through the nose and out through pursed lips as if you are cooling a cup of hot tea. This softens the muscles in your jaw and throat, soothing your nervous system, perfect for helping you get to sleep. It can also help in recovery from covid or chest infections.

Breathing for calm

To move through the energetic charge of anger, and help you avoid saying something harmful, roar it out with lion breath: breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth with the tongue extended as far out as possible with a cathartic roar. Granted you might need to take yourself off to the loo to do this in private but this can be a great way to move through your feelings so you can better advocate for yourself.

Breathing for focus

For focus and concentration, give the ‘shrug and sigh’ a go: as you breathe in, make a fist, bend your arms to fire up your biceps and squeeze your shoulders to your ears. As you exhale, let it all go… feel how this gentle exertion brings you to calm.

Breathing for performance

For athletic performance, how to best breathe depends on the kind of activity you are engaged in, but if you want to stay calm, diaphragmatic breathing is your best bet and if you’re game, try nasal breathing during your workout and you might just find it boosts your performance in time.

As you move through your day, from work, to connection with family, to rest, and when your head hits the pillow, aim to breathe through your nose and feel the diaphragm support you in breathing well – allowing the four parts of the breath to be there. Making the commitment to breathing like this, and using the other practices when you need a little extra boost, will help you manage pain, stress and anxiety, promote better sleep, improve your immune function, lift your energy, and lower both your heart rate and blood pressure. I hope it brings you just the pocket of peace you’ve been looking for.